Applying for Grad School in CS*Adam Wierman

> Caltech

*much of this was blatantly poached from Mor Harchol-Balter’s advice http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

OutlineDo you really want a PhD?The application processFunding a PhDChoosing the right program

What is a PhD?A long, in depth research exploration of one topic

6 years!by the end, you

are the world experton one narrow problem

Very different from classes

Classes ≠ ResearchYou know the HWsare solvable

No clue how hardthe problems are

You are given well-defined problems

Picking the rightproblem is half of the difficulty

There’s always someoneto ask for help

You’re the expert!Often work alone

External motivation(grades, etc)

Purely internal motivation

Getting a PhD is hard

check out www.phdcomics. com

Life after a PhD?Most PhDs either go to a research lab or become a professor(if these don’t appeal to you, a PhD probably isn’t necessary)

your job is- doing research (~50% self guided)- company responsibilities- travelling to conferences, etc

your life is- research (100% self guided)- applying for grants- working with students- teaching- conferences, etc.

Should you get a PhD- A PhD is not for everyone- It requires ~6 years (opportunity cost is high)- Don’t apply unless you’ve tried and enjoyed research- It helps a lot if you like teaching- You need to be a particular type of person (driven, …)- You need to be sure you want it- You need to be smart

If you’re not sure, it’s a good idea to work for a few years

OutlineDo you really want a PhD?The application processFunding a PhDChoosing the right program

A PhD application1) Transcript2) GREs3) Personal statement4) Previous research experience (industry/academic)5) Recommendation letters6) Awards & extracurriculars

Grades are important…but not too important

- Perfect grades with weak research won’t be enough- Grad courses are only impressive if they lead to research

GREsTop schools only check to makesure they are “good enough”

You should study (if you are planning to work for a year, take the test now)

The personal statement…i.e. the research statement

A template:1) Describe the general areas that interest you and why2) Describe a project you’ve worked on3) Describe a project you’ve worked on4) Say why you want a PhD5) Why do you want to be at school X

Don’t- Regurgitate your grades- Describe pre-college triumphs

Previous research experience…you’re doing it now

Do SURFsDo research during the yearDo research as part of classesDo work with more than one facultyDo research somewhere besides Caltech (try an REU)Do submit a paper(s) to a conference/journal

Remember that these advisors will be your recommenders

Recommendations…the most important piece

“I highly recommend student X for your graduate program. Student X received an A+ in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 2 out of 100 students. He got the highest score on the final. He worked very hard all semester, never missed a class, and was always able to answer the questions that I asked in class. This conscientious attitude makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program. ”

Letter 1

DWIC

Recommendations…the most important piece

“I highly recommend student Y for your graduate program. Student Y received a B in my undergraduate algorithms class. He was ranked Number 29 out of 100 students. Halfway through the semester we started working on network flows. Student Y seemed extremely excited by this topic. He disappeared for 4 weeks and even missed an exam. However when he came back, he showed me some work he had been doing on a new network flow algorithm for high-degree graphs. He had done some simulations and had some proofs. I’ve been working with student Y for the past couple months since then and he is full of ideas for new algorithms. I think student Y’s initiative makes him an excellent candidate for any graduate program.”

Letter 2

self-motivated, independent,

good potential

Recommendations…the most important piece

Of the four letters, a good candidate has- 2-3 research advisor letters- 1-2 teacher letters that say more than just DWIC

Asking for recommendationsAsk “do you feel comfortable writing me a strong letter”

Give each person a packet- statement of purpose- summary of each research project- resume- class listing with grades- directions (including deadlines)- confirmation information

Send them a thank you afterwards

Awards & Extracurriculars… provide a way to be memorable

A PhD application1) Transcript2) GREs3) Personal statement4) Previous research experience (industry/academic)5) Recommendation letters6) Awards & extracurriculars

How many schools to apply to? 6-10, including some safeties

The rankings1) MIT, Stanford, Berkely4) CMU5) Illinois6) Cornell, Princeton, Washington9) Georgia Tech, UT Austin11) Caltech, Wisconsin-Madison13) UCLA, Maryland, Michigan16) Columbia, Harvard, UCSD,19) Purdue20) Brown, Duke, Rice, Umass-Amherst, UNC, Penn

OutlineDo you really want a PhD?The application processFunding a PhDChoosing the right program

You get a “livable” stipend and tuition paid for youIdeally, you just do research (and TA occasionally)

This costs your advisor 60+k per year

Funding a PhD

Having a fellowship virtually

guarantees admission

Fellowships…can make the difference

Same process as grad school applications

WARNING: Fellowship deadlines are before grad school deadlines

Some to check out:- NSF graduate research fellowship- NDSEG graduate fellowship- Hertz fellowship- National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC)- NASA- DOE- Homeland Security

If you don’t get them now, apply again your 1st & 2nd years

Applying for a fellowship

OutlineDo you really want a PhD?The application processFunding a PhDChoosing the right program

Choosing the right programYou will get to visit each school you are accepted to

Most important- Good rapport with your advisor- Good atmosphere in the department- Graduate students treated well (do students graduate)

Also pay attention to- requirements for degree- overall rank- stipend

Talk to faculty here about the decision

Applying for Grad School in CS*Adam Wierman

> Caltech

*much of this was blatantly poached from Mor Harchol-Balter’s advice http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf